Family Ties
by flashwitch
Summary: A distant relation gets in touch with Spencer Reid when he's doing a family genealogy. He discovers a distant relative from years ago who interests him.


**Yeah, not much to this other than 'Reid and Reid have the same surname!' and then some speculation on the future of Ripper Street's Reid. ** **I may expand on this or do a sequel at some point. Not quite happy with how it turned out.**

* * *

"Reid." Reid didn't look up from whatever he was reading. Hotch frowned. "Reid."

"Hey, genius," Morgan poked him. "Hotch is talking to you." Reid looked up startled and flushed.

"Sorry."

"It's okay," Hotch replied, still frowning. "I was just going to say that everyone could go home early if we don't get a case in the next hour."

"Alright!" Morgan grinned, and Reid smiled too.

"I've already let Rossi, JJ and Blake. I just need to let Garcia know."

"That's great," Reid smiled. "Thanks Hotch."

"We deserve it. What's got you so interested anyway?" He gestured to Reid's computer.

"I..." he looked between Hotch and Morgan, then maximised the window he'd been looking at. "A cousin I didn't know I had got in touch. Well, a distant cousin."

"What?"

"Really?"

"Yeah. His name is Jack and his great grandfather was my dad's great, great, great uncle."

"Wow." Morgan got in close and looked over Reid's shoulder. "Do you know anything about this guy?"

"Jack or my great, great, great, great Uncle?"

"Both. Either."

"Jack is with New Scotland Yard."

"So crime fighting is in your blood?" Hotch asked, smiling.

"Yeah, I guess. This great uncle was one of the first detectives back in Victorian London. He was the first to introduce forensics and to work with a doctor doing autopsies of the victims." Reid smiled. "My cousin found his diary while researching the family; he scanned it in and emailed it to me."

"So?" Morgan asked. "Tell us about him." Hotch nodded and grabbed a chair, sitting down on Reid's other side. It's not like they had anything else to do. They'd spent most of the day finishing up with paperwork.

"His name was Edmund Reid, and he was part of the hunt for Jack the Ripper."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. He had a long and distinguished career, and he was a man before his time."

"You mean the forensics thing?" Morgan asked.

"Not just that, although that was a part of it. More his general attitude to life didn't really fit in with Victorian sensibilities."

"How so?"

"He treated women as equals; his doctor friend lived in a whorehouse; he didn't really pay much attention to class and politics." Reid gestured to the screen. "It's really interesting, especially because of the way other police acted at the time."

"Does the diary tell you much about him as a person, rather than as a policeman?" Hotch asked.

"It does, yes." Reid frowned. "His personal life isn't as..."

"What?" Morgan asked.

"It's a mess. He saw his daughter die and he completely fell apart after that. He threw himself into his work and his wife did something similar. They barely saw each other. His affairs were almost to be expected."

"Affairs?" Morgan grinned.

"Yes. He had a long lasting affair with a woman he simply calls 'The Jewess', and he also ended up having a series of one night stands, usually when he was at his lowest, with Captain Jackson, his doctor."

"Well," Morgan smirked and raised an eyebrow, "you said he was modern..."

"I know. From what he's written, he saw himself as straight, but didn't see anything wrong with people who weren't. He only slept with Jackson when he was at his lowest and most desperate."

"What did Jackson think about that?" Hotch asked.

"I've only got Reid's diary, but from what he's written, it seemed like Jackson was a bit of a reprobate."Morgan laughed at that, and the corner of Hotch's mouth twitched.

"You said he lived in a whorehouse," Morgan grinned.

"Yeah. He was also constantly drunk, got into fights regularly and slept with anything that moved."

"Including your great uncle?"

"Yeah. I think he needed it though. He needed something. After he lost his daughter..."

"If his daughter died, who was your cousin descended from?" Hotch asked.

"He got the Jewess pregnant. His wife had a small breakdown when she found out, and then insisted they adopt the child." Reid sighed. "I feel bad for him. He was smart and he was good at his job, but the rest of his life was just falling apart around his ears." He smiled, a little bittersweet. "I wonder what he'd think about me if he read my diary?"

"I'm sure he'd be proud, Reid." Hotch put his hand on Reid's shoulder and squeezed gently.

"Yeah," Morgan nodded. "I know we are."

* * *

_Captain Jackson held Detective Inspector Reid while he cried and shook, quiet and undignified._

_"Hey, hush now."_

_"I cannot. I cannot be a father. Not again."_

_"Have you even held the child yet?"_

_"No. I have not. Emily and the child's mother have both held him. But I cannot."_

_"Why not? You're a good father, Reid."_

_"No. I am not. I lost my daughter. I took her with me on a case and she died. She died, Jackson. I can't lose another child."_

_"You won't." He stroked a hand through Reid's hair. The Detective often got emotional after their liaisons. It was as though he couldn't express these emotions until after they had been physical. "Reid, I promise you. He's your little boy."_

_"What would you know? You don't have any children."_

_"No. I don't. But I have Susan and the girls. They're my responsibility."_

_"What if he dies? What if I drop him? What if he grows up a Jew?"_

_"He's not going to die. You won't drop him. And why would it matter if he's Jewish? Besides, it's a religion not a disease."_

_"I know that. But you saw how his mother is treated. I don't want his life to be hard." Jackson shifted and pulled at Reid until he was settled more firmly against his chest._

_"You won't let his life be hard. You'll love him and care for him and raise him and he'll be the happiest boy in the world."_

_"I don't know."_

_"I do. What's his name again?"_

_"Spencer. Spencer Homer Reid."_

_"Homer?" Jackson grinned. "Great name."_

_"I've always thought so. One of the best men I've ever known was called Homer."_

_"Aw, I'm blushing." Jackson pressed a wet kiss to the side of Reid's neck and Reid passively allowed it; soon he would pull himself together and this moment of intimacy would pass. "Seriously, he's going to be great. _You're_ going to be great."_

_"I hope so."_

_"If he does turn out Jewish, or he's a molly or something, would you toss him out?"_

_"Of course not!"_

_"Of course not. You're a good father. And a good man. He's going to love you so much."_

* * *

Hotch followed Reid out of the bullpen into the lift. The others had already left, taking full advantage of Hotch's generosity.

"Are you going to stay in touch with this distant cousin?"

"I don't know. Maybe. He wants to know all about me and my parents. He's doing a genealogy of the Reids."

"Oh."

"Yeah. I'm not sure how much I want him to know."

"Reid, you're a genius and an FBI agent. Whatever you tell him, he should be proud to add you to his family tree." He squeezed Reid's shoulder again and the younger man smiled uncomplicatedly.


End file.
